The Ensnarement of Dimensions
by Cyndaquil123
Summary: This is a the story of a pokemon. A pokemon named Keldeo. He has dreams. No, these aren't any normal dreams, no these dreams are more than that. Not only do these dreams repeat, but these dreams seem real. Never forgotten, pondered endlessly, the dreams haunt. Keldeo must find their meaning.
1. Chapter 1

The Ensnarement of the Dimensions chapter 1

Ok this story is written by three authors, Gamemaniac, Darkfoxkit, and I.

Gamemaniac has written The Path to Aura and Darkfoxkit has written The Child of Mew

Now, all you authors that deem yourself acceptable can write a one-shot

to me that is placed within the story, but not in the storyline. If I like the one-shot enough I will put it in the story and answer one of their questions about the story.

I present to you now, the first chapter, written by GameManiac!

The mind. What exactly about it makes it so special to those that have one?

Well, with the mind, virtually every individual that has one can think for themselves. They can act on their own, by themselves, and make choices based on what comes their way. With the mind, one can take in their environment and comprehend it to its fullest. With the mind, one can record their experiences and bring it back to light at any other point in time, easily so if the memory is impactful, but not so if the memory is overlooked. And with the mind, everybody who has one has their own identity, their means of making themselves known to others who also have minds.

And all of this is possible by what our mind allows us to understand.

But there's much more to the mind that what we're able to assimilate from our outside sources, and from what we can discern upon first glance.

For example, what occurs within the mind that _allows_ us to be conscious of all of this?

Experts on the workings of the mind say that it is because of various chemicals, alongside neurons and synapses that interweave with our very bodies, influencing our ability to move and interact in the world with the five default senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste, in ways that seem limitless and eternally open for experimentation and discovery.

But that's only the shallow surface of the mind, the surface that it's pink, jelly-like structure presents itself to us, when your skull is cracked open.

The bigger question is what occurs _deep_ within the mind that makes us who we are. What resides past the fleshy material that distinguishes us?

Or in my case, what makes me _question_ who I am.

While this may not be the key to my question, it's certainly the door that is leading me in the right track.

And this door, that I'm describing to you, exists in the form of a dream.

Let me make it known to you.

A bright sunny day, without a cloud in sight, shines down on a human metropolis of tremendous scale. The hundreds of skyscrapers that line virtually every segment of this urban jungle create large shadows that overlap other, smaller buildings that didn't share in the scale of their kin. And surrounding this city almost entirely around itself, was nothing but a body of water, one that easily requires bridges and boats to trek through.

But despite the ability of this man-made municipality to house millions upon millions of human beings and Pokémon alike, there was not a soul in sight, for as far as my eyes can see.

So it goes without saying that me, just a little pony-like Pokémon by the name of Keldeo, clopped and trotted through these concrete streets for miles on end, with nary a being to accompany me as I did so. All that I had to occupy me was my ability to recall where I've been and what I've seen.

…Though, I'm not exactly one of the smartest of Pokémon. That being said, I'm no Slowpoke or Quagsire when it comes to brainpower. But then again, I'm certainly no Metagross or even Mewtwo. I'm more along the lines somewhere between both. Maybe a bit higher up in that scale even? I would believe so.

But I digress. What I was saying earlier is that, within this city in a dream, I walked about for as long as I felt like. And even though I remembered where I was going and where I've been before, just taking in the sheer scale of this city—one that must've required hundreds of thousands of humans and Pokémon, alongside millions of hours of laborious and potentially dangerous work—can make just about overwhelm the sense of direction of _anyone_.

Heh… I almost said "anypony" there. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I am one? Or maybe it's something else?

…Sorry, I'm digressing again. What I was saying _that_ time is that this city is just too grand in scale, my little Pokémon body is but a speck of dust to this place, and I'm cognitively unable to take in every single detail about it.

Ha hah… My little Pokémon body… My little _pony_ body…

*Ahem* Sorry, sorry again.

Where was I? Oh right. I was saying how insignificant I am compared to this city.

So, as I trotted about through the fraction of streets and alleys, around the few buildings that I would pass by, I would barely be the wiser on where I've been and what I've seen. All of these buildings look the same to me. They cast their large shadows on me when they blocked the sunlight throughout my path, they were all gray, and they were all devoid of anything inside of them, when I felt like looking into each building in broader detail.

Whether there was any genuine progress to be made in this labyrinth of a metropolis or not was out of my understanding. Because, when I so much as travel into a few buildings and inspect them from ceiling to floor, I would wake up.

My eyes would open and I would awake to see that I was back in my own little room.

My home, strange as it may seem, resides in the Moor of Icirrus, where I was first born…and where I had lost my parents to a fire that once ran rampant across this place, the result of which came from a war that broke out between mankind and Poké-mankind.

…Don't get me wrong here. When I say "lost", I don't necessarily mean that my parents perished in the fire. Or _did_ they? Did they? I don't really know, I was just a young colt back then…er, _younger_ colt back then. I barely learned how to walk when that war occurred. All I know is that I lost my parents that day, either from the fire, from them being fallen by the results of the war, or by being separated from them.

I don't really remember it that well. It's all just a blur to me, because I was so young and infantile back then. All that I remember about that event, after the war in the Moor of Icirrus, is that when I wasn't with my parents, I was alone for quite some time. I don't remember how long _exactly_, but I know it was long enough for me to show near fatal signs of starvation.

I probably would've died from that, by starving to death. There was no question about that. I didn't know how to fight or forage for food at the time, because I wasn't taught how to yet.

But I'm alive today because of my three _adoptive_ parents, as I've been referring to them when I first saw them and learned to speak and address them as such. They took me in under their wings…er, hooves…and taught me everything that they knew, and helped me in learning things that only I knew. I've grown strong under their teachings, physically from their exercises and emotionally from our formed bonds.

A testament to those bonds of ours would be when I was learning to be a Sword of Justice, which involved Kyurem, my Resolute Form, and a boy named Ash Ketchum.

…I'm digressing again. I should be getting back up instead of reviewing my thoughts.

I did so. I stood up from my grassy bed and stretched my legs and back a bit, to loosen myself up after sleeping so soundly. And once I did so, I inspected one of the nearby patches of dirt and put my hoof down on it, leaving a mark on it.

Why did I do this? Well, it's because of that dream I had. It's actually not the _first_ time I've had it before. I've been having it replay in my sleep at least a few times every week. And every time I had this recurring dream, I took it upon myself to mark it by putting my hoof down on a patch of dirt.

Though, I didn't do so when I first had this dream. I only did so when I this dream repeated itself a few more times later on in my sleep. I left tally marks via hoof prints of it to me because I feel as though there might be some significance to this nighttime reverie.

So, once I left another mark in the dirt, I inspected my hoof mark on the dirt, and looked at the others that were nearby it. How many imprints are here now? I've lost track as the weeks went by.

I think it may be past a _hundred_ at this point, but I didn't have the time right now to count them all. I have other business to attend to. Business that I'm sharing with my family, the other Swords of Justice, involving teaching some new recruits how to become _new_ Swords of Justice.

A bathroom break, some Berries and nearby hay for breakfast, as well as a refreshing drink of water and a quick bath by the lake, and I was ready for the day.

I made my way over to an open field in the Moor of Icirrus, where Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, and I all agreed we'd be using as a satisfactory training ground for the Pokémon that wanted to learn from us and become Swords of Justice themselves. We selected this area because there would be enough space to set up plenty of practice boulders and fallen tree trunks—which we had set up beforehand, just the four of us.

And right off the Zubat (bad pun, I know…), I could see my comrades standing relatively close together, observing the few dozen or so Pokémon that were learning how to use SACRED SWORD, attempting the technique, and practicing using it on their makeshift targets. Alongside this, the Swords of Justice were giving pointers to these trainees.

…In their own distinct ways.

"Hone your blades, ladies and gentleman!" Cobalion commanded to these Pokémon. "Visualize your opponent's vital organs through their hides, and imagine piercing them in two with each thrust of your swords!"

"Keep a firm hold of your blade!" Terrakion's voice followed, almost rumbling the earth itself in the process. "Drive it down on your target as though it were a bolt of lightning!"

"Keep a sharp form all throughout your swings!" Virizion added after both of them, sounding somewhat gentler than them but by no means less transparent. "These targets may not be able to defend themselves, but imagine them trying to strike back at you with just as much fire!"

From my current position nearby this activity, I could see the Pokémon listening to their diverse forms of advice and motivation and taking them deeply into account, in order to master the use of SACRED SWORD.

But unsurprisingly, from what I was visualizing with these Pokémon, their use of SACRED SWORD was, on average, _pitiful_. I saw that some Pokémon were struggling in getting the shape of their energy-based blades right, while others were only getting a rough shape on it. Some Pokémon that had enough of a sword-like shape to their SACRED SWORD either swung it and had it shatter from the force of impact, or not even make it past of the surface of their targets.

And then, for some reason, there was only one Pokémon—an unnaturally tall and dark-furred Lucario—that just stood there, facing its boulder target, and did nothing.

This shouldn't be surprising to any of us four Swords of Justice. SACRED SWORD is a technique that, for the most part, is our own. So, for it to be taught to a different Pokémon is quite the tall order. Maybe we'd have better luck in teaching a Grumpig how to fly.

Of course, that's not stopping them from trying, because it _can_ be done. It just takes patience and practice to teach a Pokémon a move that's a bit out of their norm.

I decided to step forward and join my clique, when they were eyeing their greenhorns.

And then, when they weren't expecting me, I got their attention.

"Hello, you three." I said eagerly. "Did I miss anything?"

Already, all three of my parents turned their attention towards me and had smiles on their welcoming faces.

"Ah, Keldeo," Cobalion responded first to me. "Good to see you up and awake."

"Did you sleep well?" Terrakion followed after. "Or was it the _usual_ again?"

"Uh…" I knew Terrakion had me pegged when it came to that again. "Yeah…I had that same dream again."

"How many times does that make it now?" Virizion questioned me.

I just shook my head at her when I was thinking the answer over. "It's probably been at least a hundred times at this point, but I can't say for certain. I honestly have lost track of how many times I've had to soil my hooves in that patch of dirt, just to keep track of that recurring fantasy."

"There must be a reason for that to you," Cobalion assumed. "But unfortunately, we don't know what this reason is supposed to be. It's just as enigmatic as that particular dream you have recurring almost every night."

As much as I would love to trek down this rut of a topic once again, I really wouldn't want to. And by that, I mean I would _hate_ to, because it would get us nowhere and would just waste our time.

And at this particular moment in time, it wasn't in our best interests to waste time, not when we have this many Pokémon in attendance to learn from us and want to follow in our footsteps as Swords of Justice.

So, with better interests in mind, I decided to change the subject.

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Maybe later." I said, before turning my attention over towards our "class", but most notably that one particular Lucario that was _still_ standing idle and doing nothing. "Right now, we should just remain focused on our students, particularly _that_ one."

My fellow instructors noted where my eyes were trained on and looked that way as well. They saw the individual that I was seeing, the one that remained as still as stone, barely showing signs of breathing and wasn't even trying to strike the boulder like the other student Pokémon.

"Has that Pokémon _always_ been standing still like that?"

"Sure, but it's not as obvious as you might think." Terrakion responded.

"Just like with all of the Pokémon already practicing away at their makeshift targets," Virizion chimed in. "We've accurately explained to them the requirements to learn SACRED SWORD."

"A stalwart sense of justice given graspable form and molded into a decisive edge of non-discriminatory judgment." Cobalion added, almost poetically.

Still, just looking at that Lucario gives me the nagging feeling (Get it? Nagging… It's funny because I'm a pony Pokémon) that it's taking our teaching and not giving a buck about them (Get it? Buck… I said it instead of fu—I'll just stop with the bad horse puns now…).

"Mind if I go have a word with it?" I said, narrowing my eyes at that Lucario ever so slightly.

"We won't stop you." Cobalion spoke for the three of them.

"Alright, thanks." I said, only briefly glancing over to them, before my gait carried me over from here.

As I made my way over towards this midnight blue statue of a Pokémon, it still showed no signs of moving at all, even when I had placed myself within kicking distance of it and was standing right in front of it. It barely breathed in and out, and still had its eyes firmly closed, its head tilted down, and the individual digits of its paws placed together.

"Hello? Are you in there?" I asked the Lucario.

"…" No response, of course.

This time, I balanced myself on my hind legs to reach this Pokémon surprisingly _elevated_ level of height. And when I was on two legs, I waved a right hoof across this Pokémon's countenance, back and forth, like a leaf in the wind.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." I practically spoke directly to its face.

Just as I did so, I got a response from this Aura Pokémon. Though it wasn't exactly a favorable one. It was more of a…surprise.

The Lucario's eyes suddenly opened wide, and made themselves apparent to me that they were a sharp sanguine in color. But then that color changed from red to gold, and appeared to stare right into my soul.

Unsurprisingly, the surprise from this caused me to lose my balance on my two hind hooves and then fall right on my ass (Get it? Ass… It's funny because… I'll just stop).

With this Lucario now made clear to me that it was awake and alert, it displayed superb agility—which its species is quite famous for actually—by jumping right over me, high into the air, and towards the boulder that it was facing in the first place.

And while it was in mid-air, I was able to see it front flip in the air a couple of times, before outstretching its left paw and focusing its innate aura to it. And right then and there, its aura elongated and formed the unmistakable shape of a SACRED SWORD blade, just before the Aura Pokémon brought it down on the boulder it was aiming for.

And with one mighty slash down, thanks to both gravity and its arm strength, this Lucario managed to do what every other Pokémon training with us Swords of Justice struggled to do, and that was cut their training obstacle down to size.

In short, this Lucario cut that boulder down in half, right down the middle, in one clean cut. And alongside this, it wasn't an understatement to say that _everybody_ within the vicinity was surprised at this. Why? Because this Pokémon not only got the form and power of SACRED SWORD down to perfection, but in just _one_ go as well, right after hearing the explanation in attempting this technique from its teachers.

Before I can get up though, this bizarre Lucario then made a mad dash over towards me in a heartbeat with its EXTREMESPEED, and held its SACRED SWORD technique right by my bulbous nose.

If this Lucario had just been a bit slower in doing this motion onto me, then my comrades would've retaliated against this Pokémon in a heartbeat. But because this Lucario did so faster than we can _blink_, and then _stopped_ right there in its tracks, with its blade stopped inches away from cutting a third nostril into me (or potentially worse), we only had enough time to make sense of this.

And then this Lucario said something to me telepathically, with its golden glare still staring deeply into me, almost malevolently.

"_Has anyone ever told you…that you shouldn't disturb an individual who is meditating?_" It told me somberly, as though my acts of getting its attention annoyed it. "_It's about as outright foolish as awakening a Snorlax lying asleep in the middle of the road. Just stirring it from its sleep is enough for it to lash back in a grumpy rage._"

When it finished saying that to me, the SACRED SWORD blade it had drawn on me and over my nose dissipated, alongside its golden glare on me, with its eyes returning to their normal red, all probably though its own doing.

And when it did so, I rolled off of my back and onto my feet, but I never looked away from this Pokémon in the process.

Why? Because of the _nerve_ of it! It called me "foolish" just now, for what I tried doing to it earlier.

"_I know you are the fourth Sword of Justice, and arguably the most powerful of the four,_" this Lucario continued speaking. "_But the absolute _least_ you could do is display your title properly, by thinking these sort of things through and assessing those situations more broadly._"

...To hell with "holding my horses"! This Pokémon's asking for a "corrective lesson" now.

I galloped towards this Lucario and aimed my horn out to it, attempting to strike it in one blow.

But when I felt as though I would make contact with it, the unthinkable happened.

This Lucario just warped away from my strike path, and reappeared by my left side. It took me a second or two to comprehend what it just did right now, and then I realized it. But when I did, it was just plain perplexing.

"Did you just…TELEPORT?" I said when I locked eyes with it once more.

"_Stop that,_" it said once more, calmly this time and without any hostile intent directed towards me. "_I don't wish to fight you, and if I sounded as though I was insulting you, I apologize. I was only meaning to convey to you where you went wrong and what you need to learn from this._"

Apologetic or not, I still found myself offended by this Lucario's words and actions earlier. But after hearing that, I didn't attempt to attack it once again. That being said, I was still feeling a little cocky.

"You don't wish to fight me? Why's that?" I questioned it. "Are you afraid that I'll defeat you or something?"

Calmly, this Lucario merely shook its head to me. "_No. It's actually the contrary. I would probably defeat _you_, though it might take a while if we locked horns and actually clashed._"

This Pokémon still has quite the nerve to it, to say something like that so easily to me and expect it to be the truth. I would've said something otherwise to it, but just looking at his face told me all of the information that I needed to know. And not all of that information was something that I would enjoy.

This Aura Pokémon wasn't acting arrogant against me. Not in the least. It was quite confident in its abilities and didn't doubt itself when it said that it could defeat me in battle. And the way it said them to me was as though its words were cemented into stone, as fact. I could've said something otherwise, but then there was that TELEPORT move that it did to avoid me.

No Lucario _alive_—at least from my understanding and that of my family—can do what this Lucario just did right in front of me. And what's to say that TELEPORT isn't the _only_ move in its repertoire. There might be more that this Pokémon knows. It might know moves that its species can't ever hope to learn. After all, it picked up on SACRED SWORD _on the first try_. And if learning such a cliquey move was effortless in its part, well then it wouldn't be an understatement to say that about any other moves it likely knows.

"Who areyou, what are you, and why are you here?" I asked it, wanting to learn more about this sapphire-colored enigma.

This Lucario's face didn't show signs of apprehension to my prodding questions, and it appeared more than willing to tell me about itself.

"_I am Xeno Lucario, a Pokémon once shackled under the tyrant criminal organization Team Rocket. I'm here to grow stronger, to learn a few new tricks, so that I can further strengthen my friends as we help release the Pokémon that we liberated when we escaped from that death trap._"

"…" That…wasn't the answer I was expecting to hear from this "Xeno Lucario". Safe to say, I was rendered speechless by this Pokémon.

Thankfully for me, when I looked over to my side, I could see my fellow three Swords of Justice proceed forward alongside me, to continue speaking while I was trying to make sense of what just heard.

"Did you just say you're _Xeno_ Lucario?" Cobalion said curiously.

"_Yes I am, sir._" Xeno said before paying his respects to the three of them by bowing down slightly to them.

"I can't believe we didn't recognize you earlier!" Terrakion practically shouted ecstatically. "You're _the _Xeno Lucario! Just your distinct physical stature should've given it away to us!"

"Your name has been buzzing around all across the world." Virizion stated. "They all tell of you and your Team Liberator friends, how you risked your very life to help hundreds of Pokémon escape Team Rocket's clutches and live their lives anew."

It was at this point that the gears within my head began to move against each other, and the pieces began to fall into place. This Pokémon right here is in fact Xeno Lucario, and we didn't notice that until just now.

And it wasn't just us four Swords of Justice either. To the other few dozen Pokémon that were here in attendance with us and learning from us, they heard this Lucario's distinguishable name and immediately stopped what they were doing. Then, they practically formed a circle all around the five of us, clamoring amongst themselves about this noble Lucario, recalling what they already knew about it, what it's accomplished, and what it's doing presently.

All of this attention directed to Xeno, when I noticed it across its face, made it grow somewhat bashful. And if it wasn't for the fur lining Xeno's face, I swear I would see him blush red all around.

"_Am I really that well known?_" It said meekly. "_I've been doing a lot of traveling over the years, so I haven't truly noticed._"

"You're well known because of the selfless actions you took during your imprisonment." Cobalion clarified. "Time and time again, word would get around about the Pokémon that you and your little group helped free from Team Rocket. They would say how their lives have changed for the better, now that they are no longer slaves to that demon in the orange suit. Hell, you're practically a Sword of Justice by your actions alone."

The praise Xeno was getting, even though it was much deserved to it, was distracting the Aura Pokémon, and it wished to change the subject.

"_Can we just…proceed with our training alongside you?_" Xeno suggested. "_Any other day and I would be more than welcome to hear what you think about me and my accomplishments. But all of us here wish to learn from the four of you, and it's just wasteful to dedicate valuable class time in simply paying attention to my personal life._"

Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion all thought Xeno's words over and eventually realized that the Aura Pokémon was correct.

"…Fair enough." Cobalion agreed.

"We don't have all day today anyway." Terrakion noted.

"We have a regimen to keep, after all." Virizion pointed out.

Before I knew it, my three parents suddenly turned their attention towards me, alongside that of every student Pokémon present and accounted for.

"…What?" I said, before recalling what we had already agreed on beforehand relating to our planned training regimen. "Oh, right! I say what's next."

Taking the torch in leading these Pokémon, I stepped forward and gave them their next instructions.

"*Ahem*" I cleared my throat and made myself audibly present to them. "For a slight change of pace to your current exercise, I'd say that it's time for an _actual_ exercise." I said before turning my head over towards the broad hillside that resided a couple of dozen miles away from here, further north from the Moor of Icirrus. "To help build up our stamina, let's jog over towards those hills. That shouldn't be too hard for any of you students."

As though my word was law, we all began our conjoined march over towards my targeted destination.

About an hour or so of time went by until all of us in attendance today successfully ran over towards the beginning of that hillside that I mentioned. And once there, we all just continued running, to help further build ourselves through prolonged and rigorous exercise.

All of the Pokémon present here found their comfort zones as they were running, and steadily rising up and down across the grooved landscape of the Moor of Icirrus. We all found ourselves placed in certain order positions as we all jogged well past the morning and into the early afternoon.

Unsurprisingly, the four of us Swords of Justice were placed in the front of the pack. And at the same time, we were looking back every once in a while to see that our students were within hearing distance of us.

They all were able to keep up with us. Most of the Pokémon in attendance, from what I can tell through their faces, found this run invigorating. Others questioned its worth and appeared to mull it over to themselves. Nevertheless, nobody was complaining about this midday work out, and that was good enough for me.

When I was looking back, I also noticed that Xeno was keeping pace with us. But for some reason, it remained at the far back of the pack. Why exactly? I'm not entirely sure. I seriously doubt it's because Xeno's out of shape, lazy, or a slow runner. And I highly doubt that extra two feet in height that it has, when compared to its fellow species, is a hindrance to its running stride.

Perhaps is a selfless reason, one that has become a habit to it. Or perhaps it's, simply put, a reason that it knows that I don't.

That it knows that I don't…

That it knows…that I don't…

…I wonder. Is it possible that Xeno knows something about the recurring dreams that I've been having for some time now, something new and different from the information hole that Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, and I have dug ourselves into?

If it does or it does _not_ know anything about my issue, then there's only one surefire way to know. And that's to simply ask it.

So, with that in mind, I slowed my running pace so that I would deliberately fall further back in the pack. And naturally, because I was slowing down, I was getting a bit of attention from everybody who was able to see me off of the corners of their eyes. They wondered why I was deliberately slowing down, but didn't bother thinking about it too much, on the off chance that I feel like channeling my inner drill sergeant at them.

In the end, when I was backing up, only Xeno was left looking at me and wondering why. And when I was by its left side, Xeno's curiosity already began to target me.

"_Can I help you?_"

"Yes actually," I said, discreetly thankful that I wasn't in the least bit short of breath from my chosen exercise. "And it comes in the form of a question."

"_Ask away then,_" It didn't mind.

It was now or never then, to ask what was on my mind to this potential sage of a Pokémon.

"What's your experience with recurring dreams?"

"_…_" Its facial expression practically told me that it was somewhat taken back by my choice of questions.

I began to feel a small ray of hope when I noticed his reaction. "You _do_ know something about recurring dreams, right?"

"_…I do actually,_" Xeno continued.

"Can you tell me what you know, please?" I asked politely, my eyes widened with hope to the point where a twinkle might be perceived in them.

"_Sure, but it might pain me a bit to do so._"

"…What's that supposed to mean?" I wondered.

"_When I was only a couple of years old, I've had a recurring dream._" It began to explain to me. "_I won't bore you with the details of it, but I will tell you what resulted of it. Years later, that dream came true for me. That dream related to the day that I was captured and made a slave of Team Rocket._"

"…So does that mean you were able to see your future or something?" I mustered up a bit of courage to speak after hearing what became of it.

Xeno merely shook its head at that thought. "_No. Back then, that dream was too vague and warped for me to believe that I could see the future. And even if it wasn't, I know I can't. I do possess distinct powers that set me apart from the Lucario norm—you've seen me TELEPORT earlier, if you recall when you lunged at me, right?_"

"Uh-huh." I remembered fondly. "Sorry about that, by the way."

"_It's okay,_" Xeno said indifferently before returning to its topic. "_Anyway, whether I can or I can't see into the future, I _knew_ I couldn't back then. In short, the dream I had was mere chance that it actually came true, so to speak._"

"I see." I said, letting it know that I understood its words.

"_So then, because you asked me that question, I assume you either presently have or once had a recurring dream?_" Xeno connected the logic dots.

"As a matter of fact, I do actually."

I won't bore you with the need to explain my dream a second time over. Long story short, it took me about fifteen minutes to explain everything that I knew about my dream, from what goes on in it to the quantity of reoccurrences of said dream. And all throughout my explanation, Xeno remained as silent as an Exploud with laryngitis. It pondered my explanation of my dream over within its mind and waited until I had explained everything about it and gave it the cue that I was finished describing it to it before Xeno responding back.

"And that's everything that I know about my dream."

If we weren't still running right now, I would've sworn Xeno would've formed that "The Thinker" pose in order to contemplate what I just explained.

"_Interesting…_"

"So, do you know anything about it that can help me with my dilemma?" I asked hopefully.

"_…Dreams are mysterious and exclusive to those who have them in the first place._" Xeno explained it over. "_In your dream, you merely wander about a labyrinth of a human conurbation, aimlessly and endlessly, until you wake up._"

"I know that already." I asserted. "I'm just wondering if you have any idea what it could mean for me."

"_What your dream means to you is your _own_ mystery to solve,_" Xeno explained flatly.

The hope I had presently was cut down to size when Xeno told me that…

"_…However, while I can never _directly_ tell you what significance your dream holds, I can at least give you some indirect advice about it._"

…And then it was pieced back together as flawlessly as it was before.

"_In my case, the dream that I had came true years after I first had them. In your case, it's possible that it's the same thing, a mental gateway to a point in the future…or perhaps even into the past._"

"I don't think my dream has to do with the past." I informed Xeno. "I've been in a human city before, but it was nowhere _near_ as grandiose as the one that I've been dreaming about on a regular basis."

"_You deny that possibility, yet it still plausible that you're wrong._" Xeno stated.

I didn't bother wishing to argue this side of the topic over with it, so I gave Xeno an indifferent "Maybe…" as my response on the subject.

Just from sensing my tone of voice, Xeno complied with me and entered another side of this topic. "_Well then, since you believe that your dream has to do with an event in the future rather than the past, that just opens up one question. And do you know what that question is?_"

I thought it over. "…What human city am I wandering about in my dream?"

"_Exactly. And right off of the tip of my tongue, I can think of two locations on this planet that best fit the city you keep visualizing in your dream._"

"Really?" I asked curiously.

"_Yes. There's Castelia City, which is right here in Unova. And then there's also Lumiose City, off in Kalos. But, as you've explained to me earlier about what you saw of that city in your dream, you noted that the city was almost entirely surrounded by a body of water, one that required boats and bridges to cross over._"

"…That would just leave Castelia City then!" I shouted ecstatically.

With that conclusion drawn, the rest of our midday exercise was spent reaching my destination of choice. And once there, after a few moments to catch our breath—for those who needed to anyway—, we resumed our training in learning how to brandish SACRED SWORD, for the students that were here with us in the first place.

With that in mind, the four of us Swords of Justice resumed our posts and acted as instructors to those who wished to learn our signature craft. And in doing so, we were beginning to notice gradual margins of improvement in the students that were still struggling with the technique.

As for Xeno… Well, because that Aura Pokémon had already pegged this technique in record time, it decided to lend us four a helping hand and assisted in instructing others how to use this technique. And to the students themselves that were learning a thing or two from Xeno instead of or alongside us four Swords of Justice, they saw it as just as much of an honor, now that they knew who Xeno is and what he's accomplished.

And as the hours slipped by, causing the sun to begin to descend into the early evening, all four of us Swords of Justice decided to up the ante by offering _ourselves_ as sparring partners to the students that wished to exercise their newly learned technique.

Unsurprisingly, the mere thought of facing us four was a bit deterring to some of our students, but not all of them. To those that were eager to prove themselves against us, we deliberately went easy against them, and blocked any and every SACRED SWORD swing that they could throw our way. And in doing so, eventually, all of the students in attendance, no matter how meek, sparred hand-and-hoof with us, because the rare and potentially unrepeatable opportunity was presented so eagerly before them.

Xeno itself even sparred against the four of us, four-against-one, just minutes before sunset. Though our sparring match against this Aura Pokémon was only for training purposes and wasn't a serious battle, we still were giving it our all. And even with us four Legendary Pokémon clashing blades with Xeno, it was impressive to everyone just how _capable_ this accomplished Aura Pokémon was against us, how well it can hold its own against us.

And perhaps, if this wasn't a class and was escalated to the point where it was a serious battle, it would've been interesting to see just how formidable this Pokémon genuinely is. But, just fighting against it as is already was enough for us all. And that was also what we only had enough time to do.

Because, before we all knew it, the night had sneaked up on us all, and it was time for us to make the trek home and call it a day for today.

Back here again, in my little den, my little section of land within the Moor of Icirrus that I've called home and I've called my bed.

Only right now, even though I'm pretty sure just about everybody is fast asleep after their exercises and lessons today from us four Swords of Justice, I found myself entirely unable to sleep.

It wasn't because I wasn't tired or anything, because I was actually somewhat exhausted from the physicality of today. What was keeping me awake was the information that I was thinking and reviewing over, involving the explanation that I received from Xeno about my recurring dreams.

I was just flat on my back, my eyes glued onto the black canvas of the night sky, and the hundreds of stars that dotted the cosmos above. My mind was wandering off from my surrounding reality, and I began to wonder what this dream meant to me.

According to Xeno's best guess, the city that I entered within my dreams was Castelia City, just because it best fit the criteria of the location that I described. But as to _why_ I dreamt of that city, that we never properly discussed. That was something that only I can figure out.

But if that's the case, then _how_ will I go about in figuring it out? What do I do from here, with this relatively small lead that Xeno made clear to me?

I would've thought further into that subject, but something in the sky suddenly whizzed by overhead, and made its way further out in the Moor of Icirrus, growing louder in the process. And whatever this something is, it was large, metallic, and a machine of sorts, from what I was _barely_ able to make out of it in the short time frame that I saw it.

"(What in Arceus' name is that?)" I thought to myself, still hearing where this contraption was within this setting.

Feeling that I would know if I followed it, I did just that. I exited my den and dashed over towards this anomaly.

If it wasn't for the fact that there was a full moon today, I wouldn't have been able to properly see my way through all of this darkness, in order to know where I was galloping off to. Nevertheless, I made due with the faint light and marched on, relying more on the sound of that contraption to lure me towards it.

From what I heard, it landed relatively far from my den and the dens of everybody else, about half a mile away by my best guess. And I knew it landed because the closer that I was running towards it, the _softer_ it was getting, until it just stopped making noise altogether.

Thankfully for me, that only happened when I was _just_ able to make out that flying machine amongst the darkness, when I had it within my sights.

And alongside this silenced contraption, I saw Xeno facing it and ogling it, as though it was _anticipating_ it.

I was just about to move closer when I heard Xeno's voice call out…to _me._

"_Keldeo, I know you're behind me and have followed me here._"

…Oh, right… All Lucario are capable of sensing the auras of all living things. For all that I know, it saw me coming long before I reached it here.

"_You might as well come out, while you still have your pride left._"

"…Alright…you caught me." I said, stepping forward towards the Aura Pokémon. "I have my hooves up, metaphorically speaking."

It was then that Xeno turned to face me and acknowledge my presence. And it was also then when I let my curiosity get the better of me.

"Why are you here, and what's with that machine?"

Xeno didn't appear to show any signs of keeping this hidden from me and spoke to me with utmost trust.

"_I'm leaving, and this is my ride to pick me up._"

"You're…leaving?" That statement struck me as unusual. "Why?"

"_For a couple of reasons actually._" Xeno began to explain to me. "_Firstly, I've already learned what I needed to from the four of you. Thank you for that by the way. And secondly, I still have my own personal agenda to follow through on._"

"Which would be…?" I had no clue what Xeno meant by its personal agenda.

"_Completing my main objective in Team Liberator._"

Just as Xeno said that, the side door to that flying machine opened wide and shed a bit more light to our nighttime setting. I saw what was now inside of that machine, and what I noticed was a couple of other Pokémon standing by and waiting for Xeno. They were relatively large Pokémon too, when compared to the size of both Xeno and I. One was an Aggron and the other was a Tyranitar.

My best guess is that these are just two of the supposed twelve Pokémon that are with Xeno at this very moment. And as for the remaining ten that accompany Xeno as its comrades and friends in Team Liberator, I believe that they're probably taking comfort within their respective Poké Balls.

But…why do they choose to reside in those capsules? My best guess is so they can evade capture by unwanted means, and go about with much more calmness in their travels, while also creating some portability in this flying metal vessel, which I'm sure can't fly with the combined weight of all _thirteen_ of them taking up space within it.

"_I already informed your fellow Swords of Justice, Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion._" Xeno explained to me. "_My conversation with them was brief. I just told them my sincerest gratitude for their lessons and my reasons for my imminent departure. I would've explained my logic to you as well, but I sensed that you were awake, and still contemplating what we discussed during our midday run, which would mean you noticing the cargo helicopter as it approached this location and following me to my rendezvous point._"

"…" Xeno's astonishing foresight left me speechless.

Now making its leave, Xeno turned away from me and approached its two allies in Team Liberator, whom were waiting for their leader with outstretched hands, to help hoist it onto the flying machine.

But before that side door closed again and they would take off, I still had one thing to say to Xeno, about my recurring dream.

"Wait!" I shouted, getting Xeno's attention. "About my recurring dreams, what am I supposed to do about them?"

Xeno's response to this was with a small smile and a cryptic statement.

"_What do you think?_"

Before I could ask Xeno what it meant by that, he closed the side door and the engines of that machine gradually roared to life. The two pairs of spinning blades on the tops of both the front and back end of that flying machine spun slowly at first, but quickly picked up speed. And when they were at full speed, the sound was almost deafening, and the winds produced almost blinding.

The flying machine—or "cargo helicopter" as it was actually called—no longer touched the ground, rose up, and flew away, disappearing into the night sky.

I was left alone now, with Xeno's last for uttered words resonating heavily within my mind.

"'What do you think?'" I repeated. "Hmm…what _do_ I think?"

The return trip back to my den was quick and I found it much easier to sleep now, because I had grown a bit tired from all of that walking in the middle of the night. I found myself sleeping almost as quickly as I had settled into my grass bed.

And it was then that I had my recurring dream again.

Once again, peering into this city through my mind's eye, I found myself wandering aimlessly about the streets of this city, which I now believe to be Unova's very own Castelia City.

However, even though my dream began as similarly as it always did, something suddenly presented before me when I made a turn into another street immediately broke my norm.

Unsurprisingly, because I still had Xeno Lucario's conversation resonating within my mind throughout the day, I found myself standing face to face with that Aura Pokémon itself.

Without saying anything to me, Xeno gestured me to follow it, and follow it closely, before running off through the streets.

I didn't hesitate to follow after it.

We both ran at reasonably fast speeds and left the streets and buildings we passed by in our dust—metaphorically speaking—, until we eventually reached some of the taller skyscrapers of this city.

Xeno stopped and faced one of them, and I caught up to it shortly after. Neither of us were out of breath or panting heavily from the run—most likely because this was a _dream_, and some physical limitations wouldn't exactly apply here.

Of course, Xeno didn't stay like this for long. It gestured me once again to follow it, only _this_ time it entered the first floor doors of the skyscraper it was facing. And naturally, I followed right behind it.

And from here, Xeno once again bolted through the lifeless room of this floor, this time heading towards the stairs. I ran after Xeno, but this time I took notice of the fact that it was running much faster now, almost intentionally so.

We both made our way to the main stairway of this skyscraper building. Of course, because I was following behind the Aura Pokémon, Xeno naturally got a lead from me, and was already about five floors up. And the instant that Xeno saw me by looking down below, it _really_ kicked itself into high gear, by using EXTREMESPEED to climb each and every ascending floor of this towering human structure in about a few seconds each.

Well, two can play at that game of high-speed ascension. Only in my case, I won't even need the stairs.

Channeling the power of my Water-Type attribute, I forced powerful jets of water to fire from and out of the soles of my hooves, easily catapulting me up and up. I used my water abilities dexterously in conjunction with my agility, by rising up angled towards a wall, "wall-jumping" off of it with a spurt of water from my hooves in conjunction to my leg muscles, and repeating the process on the opposite wall.

Xeno was still ahead of me through its use of EXTREMESPEED, but at least I was right behind it with my AQUA JET technique.

And pretty soon, with our divided tactics in climbing these stairs, we inevitably reached the top, in record time too.

Xeno proceeded through the door that resided past the last, topmost stair, and it took me about five seconds to reach that same door and follow the Aura Pokémon as well.

But upon passing through that doorway, Xeno had vanished entirely from view, leaving me and me alone—once again—within my dream. The only difference here is that I was _led_ here, instead of having wandered over here under my own free will.

Then again, the Xeno within this dream is just a figment of my imagination, so I basically led _myself_ here, which in retrospect means that I just came here on my own.

…I'm digressing again.

So, by myself, I stepped forward from the roof floor and reached the edge, where the bordering walls there were tall enough to reach my shoulders. I had to stand up on my hind legs and put my front hooves on this wall to support myself so that I can better see what was over this boundary.

And when I did so, the sight before me just took my breath away.

I had always seen this city from the ground, and I had rarely stepped into a building, all of which were only a few stories high at the most. But this time, after having entered one of the tallest buildings of this envisioned city, the grandeur of this man-made metropolis was all present here, for me to see.

And to keep a long story short, all around me, this city just seemed to stretch on for eternity. So much so that, it actually took me about a minute to see where the city met water, which is where the harbor and bridges leading to and away from this city resided.

I was about to leave the roof floor, but it was then that I noticed the sky suddenly turning dark on me. Naturally curious, I looked high up at the sky's sun to see why this was the case, and what I saw was nothing short of astonishing.

The sun, bright and high atop in the sky, was slowly being blocked off by the moon, as both their paths of orbit intercepted with each other, until eventually the moon overlapped the sun perfectly.

And then everything went dark…briefly.

What I saw next from this solar eclipse was what definitely made me believe that I was dreaming, because this next phenomenon was not natural.

When the world came back to light, the sky turned purple by what had apparently replaced both the sun and the moon. A bright six-pronged star, surrounded by five smaller, white, ordinary stars, shined brightly across this city. Its light bathed the entirety of this city below in an unnatural shade of violet.

But this didn't last too long. Because, before I knew it, this apparently new sun suddenly flashed once, blinding me with its white light. And the next thing that I knew, I woke back up in my den.

I awoke to find myself on my back, and my head facing the morning sky.

The sky today, it was still as blue as it always was. However, what I saw in that dream, with the unnatural purple star shining down on Castelia City, made me quickly look away from the sky and get up on my feet.

I stretched myself relatively quickly, proceeded over towards that patch of soil that I kept all of my tally marks of this recurring dream, and left one more into the dirt with a swift stomp into the dirt, all while keeping a serious countenance.

"(That settles it,)" I thought to myself with determination. "(I must take the road to Castelia City.)"

But just as I thought this, another thought entered my mind, one that replaced my determination with uncertainty.

"(But…what will my parents think about that?)"

Standing here in my sleeping quarters would do nothing but make me create these mental gymnastics on the subject. So to avoid this, I marched over towards the shared dens of Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion, wishing to confront this matter head on instead of worrying about it.

And as to how they'll react when I tell them what I have in mind…? I will only know when I ask them.

As I was walking over to their collective housing not too far off from my own, I noticed that all three of my fellow Swords of Justice were awake and already leaving to begin their lessons today to our Pokémon students.

But because I was approaching them, they noticed me almost immediately, and greeted me welcomingly.

"Hello, Keldeo." Cobalion said firstly, as the elected leader.

"Did you sleep well this time?" Virizion continued, naturally concerned of our wellbeing.

"Or…is there something molesting you today?" Terrakion concluded, keen on any abnormal change in our constitutions.

"Hello, you three…" I began with the slightest of apprehension in my tone of voice, but I didn't wish for that to slow me down from telling them what was on my mind. "There… There's…actually something molesting me today."

"Tell us about it." Cobalion said directly.

Upon first glance, they didn't appear to show any signs of suspicion as to what I was thinking about telling them. But that might change when I told them what was on my mind.

"Do you three recall my conversation with Xeno during yesterday's—"

I would've finished my sentence, but I was unable to say another word on account of Virizion suddenly deciding to put the end of one of its feet directly into my mouth—an act that would be a lot more sanitary if we had hands instead of _hooves_. And my only response to this was to look at Virizion quizzically.

"We know where you're going with this," Virizion said with a friendly smile on its face. "And our answer to your request is a unanimous 'yes'."

Virizion removed her foot from my mouth and the three of them gave me a second or two to process this, because they noticed that I was more or less rendered speechless by how _spontaneous_ their agreement was to my decision to pursue the reasons for my recurring dreams. Though I was also rendered speechless as to _why_ they were entirely in agreement with my wishes, and most importantly, how they already knew beforehand…"beforehoof"…ah, screw it, you get the picture.

"How did you guys know I wanted to leave?" I asked them.

"Xeno Lucario told us last night," Terrakion explained to me. "It mentioned that conversation that the two of you had about your recurring dreams yesterday and how it most likely relates to Castelia City."

To the fact that Xeno told them this beforehand, I narrowed my eyes and puckered my lips quizzically.

"(Not sure if Xeno helped me, or lied to me…)" I thought.

"To prepare for your departure, you should gather some food and supplies for your journey." Cobalion suggested, breaking my short train of thought.

All did was nod in response.

As I went to forage for a few days worth of Berries within the forests of the Moor of Icirrus, my comrades looked through the pile of lost items that trainers have left behind here over the years, searching for something that would prove to be an asset to me.

And thankfully for me, there was an abundance of lost items for me to use.

There were potions, medicinal herbs, revives, ethers, and even a couple of escape ropes, all in good working order. But most importantly, there was at least two backpacks for me to carry those supplies alongside the Berries that I gathered.

Because the absolute last thing that I wanted was—and I'll be frank with this—to carry these items as though they were _suppositories_. Hardly anything would fit in there anyway…and I'll just leave it there before things get weird.

So, with my supplies gathered, my comrades helped modify the straps to those backpacks so that I can comfortably wear one on each side. And then with these backpacks firmly, yet snugly secured onto my midsection, they loaded one of the backpacks with the medicinal and emergency supplies, and the other with all of the Berries that I gathered. The Berries themselves, despite originating only from the Moor of Icirrus, were quite diverse, and I managed to gather at least a dozen different types of Berries, including Lum Berries and Sitrus Berries.

And with that all taken care of, all that was left was to bid these three Pokémon that I've known and loved, for virtually all my life, a fond—and hopefully _temporary_—farewell.

I approached all three of them individually and hugged them…in the only way that this body can allow me to. To anyone seeing this, it would appear like I was trying to mount them head-on, struggling to get my front hooves on their shoulders and around their necks. Still, I did this anyway, because I knew that I wouldn't see them again for quite some time. It could be a few days until I return home, or a week. Maybe even a month, depending on what crosses my path or what I encounter. Nevertheless, I assured them with my gauche affection that I would miss them, but not for long, as long as I return home safely at the earliest.

With one last look goodbye, I turned away from my parents and galloped away from the Moor of Icirrus, a confident smirk of adventure written plainly on my face. And while I didn't look back again to see if the three of them were still looking at me or not as I made my way over the hills and, eventually, out of sight, I'm quite sure that they still looked on until they physically couldn't anymore, and then began their day.

And as I continued over the hills, heading south to Castelia City, the only thing that bothered me mentally and kept me occupied was what I saw in my latest dream, and what I was trying to make sense of.

That six-sided star, which replaced both the sun and the moon during that solar eclipse over Castelia City and radiated violet light omnisciently.

Was what I saw in my dream just that? Was it merely a warped figment of my imagination? Or was it something more?

Something…critical?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Tough City Life**

They say that you never know what you had until it's gone. I can believe that phrase… I never knew my mother… I wish I did though. My dad is a Ninetales… he use to belong to an Exploration Team but he never talks much about it. His name is Firestorm. My name is Foxfire… I'm a young female Vulpix, common I know… I'm actually a very timid Vulpix; scared to really explore or talk to anyone I don't know. To be honest I'm not a fighter at all, but I wish to be strong and be able to speak up my mind, but my fear always holds me back.

Dad wears this mysterious purple beautiful gem stone around his neck, the strap he uses seems to be fine material, though I don't know where he got it, what it's for, or even what it really is, but he likes wearing it. I don't care; I just want to live in peace.

Lately I've been noticing the sky's been getting kind of dark lately… I wonder why? I've also been getting a lot of bad vibes lately… and it's been getting me anxious. Since I don't have any friends I usually just stay here with my Dad in a small park in this huge city. Yes, I live in Castelia City, a really huge city in the Unova region.

It was mostly just Dad and me… I never dared to venture outside, because I know how dangerous it is… Dad told me a lot about the dangers too. Of course, there were some other Pokémon that live here too, like Rattata, Eevee, Skitty… but they don't want to be my friends… they always made fun of me just because I didn't have a Mom, saying things like 'maybe your Mom left because she didn't want an annoying brat like you.' That really stung.

One Eevee did actually talk to me though, he said that it wasn't fair that everyone picked on me just because I didn't have a mother, but I never saw him again after a girl human Trainer came here… I think he got captured by her. Oh well… I guess I don't need friends…

* * *

Dad sat down with me one late night, I was eating some berries we found. "Foxfire…"

"Yes, father?" I said with respect, looking up at him.

Dad wrapped me with one of his tails, it always felt nice feeling his tail wrap around me, especially on cold nights. "I don't like how you're such a lonely child, Foxfire… I wish for you to make new friends, and get stronger out there."

I stopped eating and looked at him, "… D-Dad, surely you're not suggesting I leave this safe territory to go out there where it's unsafe, right?"

But Dad just sighed, "I do not wish for you to spend your days here, young Foxfire. I love you, with all of my heart, but you can't ever grow if you're stuck here all the time."

"W-well if you want me to explore, Dad, why not just take me out for a walk or something? I don't want to leave home." I protested, scared out of my wits at the very thought of leaving home!

"You must learn to fend for yourself, my child. Tomorrow morning we will explore the city, but then you must decide what you're going to do after that, Foxfire." Dad said before lying down.

I frowned… I didn't want to leave the territory… what can I do out there? I'll probably just get eaten or something… Still, Dad believes this might be good for me. Maybe if he sees I can't handle myself out there he would call it off, just have to try and get a good night sleep.

Well… I had hoped it was just another night where I sleep, but it wasn't… Nobody saw it coming… but that night, I couldn't sleep. I was too afraid to go to sleep, knowing that tomorrow I have to go out; at least Dad will be with me. But for some reason I felt uneasy… I don't even know why, it's got to be more than just a simple walk in the city, and hoping no human will try to capture us. I couldn't help but look up at the sky… it's been getting darker lately, even though it's night it just feels so wrong and unnatural… maybe I'm looking too much into this and getting paranoid.

I tried to sleep again… but then my ears twitched as I could swear I heard footsteps… footsteps that didn't sound at all like Pokémon. What was that? I lifted up my head. I looked around, it was dark… but I can usually see in the dark since I'm a fox Pokémon. I saw Dad was still asleep, but then I heard something that sounded like a thud. That woke Dad up, he usually has very high senses, he looked around before growling on high alert.

"D-Dad, what is it?" I asked nervously.

"Humans… but these are not Trainers, or just citizens, I know this scent anywhere… they belong to Team Rocket." He hissed.

"Wh-what?" I heard about an evil organization that existed on far away regions like Kanto and Johto, they're called Team Rocket and they steal rare Pokémon and then use them for experiments. "B-but what are they doing in Unova!?"

"Team Rocket can go just about anywhere; their resources can take them far. Listen to me Foxfire; we can't stay here… they're out looking for Pokémon, us included. Come, we need to get out of here… stay close to me." Dad said and I nodded, quickly following him.

I'm glad we could see in the dark, so it was easier for us to get moving. I was scared, never have we ever been hunted, especially not by humans before. The Trainers never bother to look too deep into the park. I heard those footsteps getting closer… I hope we can make it out of here.

"There! I see them!" I heard someone shout, causing me to yip.

"Shh! Come on!" Dad picked me up by using his teeth to hold the scruff of my fur on my neck.

"It's getting away!" someone shouted.

I couldn't see what was going on, it was happening so fast, but I think they were shooting some kind of net at us because I see those nets flying everywhere! Dad kept running with me in his mouth. I noticed the purple stone around his neck was glowing a little bit… what does that mean? I don't know anything about that mysterious stone Dad likes to wear.

Dad jumped around the city, it was dark despite all the city lights. He then stopped near an alleyway and put me between some dumpsters. "You stay here until its safe, then I want you to run, okay? And whatever you do; don't let them take you or this stone." Dad said as he took off the stone with Extrasensory and then putting it around my own neck.

"D-dad! Don't leave me here alone!" I was scared out of my mind just thinking about him leaving me!

"I'm sorry, but you need to get out on your own. I hope to see you again, my daughter." Dad said before running off, the footsteps running after him.

I silently cried in fear, wishing I wasn't left alone like this… Why did he give me this stone? He loves it far more than I do, and he knows more about it too… what do I know about it? To me it just looks pretty, nothing more! Why give it to me? I don't know… and I don't know what to do other than just sit here, crying and hoping someone nice will find me and take me in until Dad gets back.

* * *

I just stayed there for a while… I don't know how long… it's gotten quiet, well not that quiet since the city itself is busy 24/7, but what I mean is I don't hear those evil humans out there anymore… I hope Dad is okay… I just curled up, not wanting to move… but then I heard someone growling, uh-oh… I lifted up my head and saw a Houndour growling at me.

"Uh… c-c-can I h-help you?" I asked it nervously, not wanting any trouble.

The Houndour growled, "You're in my space little fox, get out and get moving!"

"O-oh I'm s-sorry a-about that… s-see I-I'm waiting f-for my dad and-"

"I don't care, just leave!" Houndour snapped at me and I yipped, quickly moving away.

Yes, I'm timid and shy, I can't stand up for myself either because I'm very weak. I sighed as I walked… well Dad did say he wanted me to get out and explore… guess he's getting his wish. I touched the smooth purple stone hanging around my neck… I hope I'll find him soon and give this stone back to him.

Where can I go though… I don't know… I timidly looked out from the alleyway, seeing a lot of people walking around… sheesh, it's an endless sea of people out there! Where am I supposed to go? What am I supposed to do? I looked up at the sky as if hoping Mew or Arceus would just swoop down and tell me, but that's when I noticed the moon was looking much bigger and brighter than ever before… something about this made me more uneasy.

I shook my head and look down, not liking how bright and big the moon is. So I guess I should just… move around… I just walked out, staying near the sides and out of the busy human's ways. I looked around, wondering what to do and where to go.

I stopped when a Growlithe was sniffing around and trying to eat some… spilt ice cream cone or something. I was walking passed him when it turned and growled at me. I stopped and frowned.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Get out, this is my territory, fox!" Growlithe growled at me.

"I was just passing by! I can't go anywhere else with all these humans walking around." I tried to reason with it.

"Not my problem, just get off my territory or I'll bite you!" Growlithe snapped at me and I gulped but backed away.

Well now what? I could try crossing the streets but I might get stepped on with all those humans walking around. I groaned… I'm getting hungry. I should've eaten more berries if I knew this was going to happen. Ugh… how am I going to eat? There aren't any natural berries here… Hmm? *Sniff, sniff* I smell food… my stomach growled.

I followed the yummy scent and it led me to a human restaurant… now what am I going to do? I can't eat at a human restaurant… not unless I had a human owner. I began drooling seeing all the human Pokémon being fed such yummy food… I'm jealous… maybe being a human pet may not be so bad. Oh… but Dad said not to let anyone get this… gem. Ugh… great, I'm stuck_ and_ starving! What's so important about this stupid gem that he didn't want anyone to get their hands on it anyway?

I turned around and gasped when I saw a Houndour, a Growlithe and a Poocheyana all growling at me. They seem to have formed a gang and the Houndour is their leader. I gulped, backing away, "W-what's going?" I asked them nervously.

"What's wrong is that you're standing in _our turf_!" Houndour snapped.

"What? But this is such a big place and I have nowhere else to go…" I said timidly and they just kept coming up at me.

"I said leave before we have to get nasty with you!" Houndour growled.

"This isn't fair! I'd have to cross that road to leave and I'll get run over!" I pointed out, hoping they'd see reason.

Of course neither of them seems to care that I can't get across, so they kept growling, as if threatening me to either leave now or face the consequences. I didn't know what to do… I couldn't fight them… could I?

"Look! I can't get across!" I snapped at them, finally losing my patients.

"Then you become our next meal!" Houndour snapped. "Get her!"

I yelped as they all came at me! I reacted quickly and used Quick Attack, thankfully all those times Dad chased me around I was fast, and dodged the incoming Bite attack. But this only angered the Houndour as he growled, and now I find myself surrounded by the three canine Pokémon! They all dived at me with a vicious Bite attack, I yelped as I ran under them while they were jumping at me and ran across the side-walk, the other three were chasing and barking at me. I knew I couldn't slow down or they'll tear me to pieces!

I passed some humans who looked surprised or annoyed to see me and the other three chasing me like some common Purrloin. I've got to find a place to hide! But I ended up tripping over something because I fell down and the Houndour jumped at me! I screamed, yelled and struggled as it bit down on my back! I kicked and bucked like a Ponyta to get him off my back! The other two then tackled me, making me lose my balance. It hurts! IT HURTS!

* * *

Suddenly a net was over us, before I could think we were suddenly picked up and thrown into a metal box and it closed up. I whimpered and whined as the Houndour got off me and the three began whining, scratching at the metal door that shut us in here. I blinked, still trembling… my back hurts and is bleeding a little. I looked around, glad the three were too distracted to pay any attention to me. There were more Pokémon here too, many of them looked scared or sad.

I looked at one Pokémon that was an Eevee, and asked him, "Hey… uh… what's going on?"

The Eevee sighed and answered, "We're being taken to the Poke Pound, it's where the humans take stray or wild Pokémon in the city and put into the pound for humans to adopt us as their pets."

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, not sure if this is really so bad. Maybe if a human adopt me I won't have to fend for myself. I don't even know if Dad is alive or not anymore at this point.

"We can't know what human will adopt us, for all we know we could be sold into slavery or sold again!" Eevee whimpered. "I-I'm scared… I don't want to be adopted by a mean person…"

I began to feel nervous… I wanted someone to take care of me, but… what if they're bad? And Dad said not to let anyone get their hands on this purple stone… What should I do? Ugh, it's not like I have a choice right now anyway.

"This is _all your _fault!" Houndour barked at me and I glared at him.

"It's your own fault for locking me in here!" I snapped back, feeling my patience running thin. "If you'd just let me pass without any commotion none of us would be in here right now!"

Houndour growled at me and I only glared. Yes I was timid, but this guy was pushing me too far. Eevee spoke up, "Enough! We shouldn't fight, we need to find a way out of here before they put us into the Poke Pound!"

"That's going to be hard considering these guys can't get along with anyone." I grumbled, looking at the three canine Pokémon.

"Besides, once you're caught there is no getting out." Growlithe said sadly. "So they say in the streets."

I looked out in the back of the bars, wondering where this thing is taking us. I see a lot of people still walking in the road. I did notice a man wearing black and a big red R on his chest was looking at me as if interested. I didn't like that look… maybe he was interested in the purple stone I was wearing around my neck? I didn't like this…

* * *

The big metal box came to a stop, and the man who had caught us walked over to us. The Poocheyana, Growlithe and Houndour were all growling at the man, as if daring him to open the cage and as soon as he does they'll jump at him. However the man seems to be prepared as there were more of them. I gulped; they all had a small cage beside them that they plan to put us in. The man opened the cage door up and the three jumped at him, but they were soon handled by a sudden Thunder Wave that came out of nowhere, paralyzing them. I noticed a Magnemite with them… that must be what paralyzed them.

So it was either cooperation or be stubborn and get paralyzed. I didn't like either of the options since both had the same result just that the latter will hurt and make you numb for a while. The man had the others scoop up the three paralyzed dog Pokémon while he looked at me and the Eevee beside me. Both of us knew better than to pick fights we can't win, so we let him pick us up by the scruff of our necks and put us into those smaller cages where we can hardly move.

So the man was carrying me in this cage- I assume the other humans were carrying the rest of us- and bringing me into their building. Inside I can see a lot of humans walking around, many of them were parents with their child, most likely looking for the Pokémon they want to train or keep as a pet. My father spoke about humans a lot and how they work. I don't know how Dad knows so much about them since he was never a human's Pokémon before.

Before I knew it I was dumped into another cage, this one was a bit roomier, but I still can't move much. I looked out to see some kind of glass was blocking me from leaving. I sighed as I lay there, not sure what to do now. I must've fallen asleep because I think now I'm dreaming.

* * *

_I find myself in a forest, running from… from… I don't know what, but it was dark and scary. I kept going, trying to get away from the shadows that were chasing me. What should I do?_

_I tripped and fell, it hurts… I look behind me… the shadows were gone. Oh thank Mew… I slowly stood up, but a shadow loomed over me. I looked up and saw… a strange horse-like Pokémon in front of me… a Pokémon I have never seen before. It had a long purple horn and looked to be ready to battle. It turned to me._

"_Follow me, hurry!" it said to me urgently before taking off._

"_W-wait! I can't run that fast!" I yelled, using Quick Attack to try and catch up to him. I wasn't fast enough to keep though, "WAIT! WHERE ARE YOU!?" suddenly everything around me grew dark again, the sky was turning purple as I looked up to see the moon was covering the sun. This is the solar eclipsed Dad told me about, but should it be this scary? I looked around and saw I was being surrounded by the shadows once more._

_I tried to fight back, but all I could really use is Ember and Quick Attack, I didn't know any other moves because I never bothered to train! The shadows all lunged at me… and I woke up in sweat._

* * *

I groaned, shaking my head that was a very creepy and disturbing dream. I looked up and jumped back when I saw that same guy I saw earlier with the black suit and the big R on his shirt looking at me with greedy eyes. But… I think it's my stone he's looking at, apparently he knows something about this stone that I don't.

"Sir… are you sure you want to adopt this Vulpix?" I saw one of the men who captured me earlier asked. "We hasn't bathed or given her shots yet."

"It's fine, I just want the Vulpix." The man in black said, staring at me, or rather the stone around my neck, in a hungry way. "Well we still have to check her collar to see if she belongs to anyone."

Collar? I don't have a- oh right, the stone, apparently they think it's a human collar. But the R guy just glared, "Just give me the Vulpix and the 'collar' around her neck!"

"S-sir, we have rules you know, we can't just dismiss them for you." The man said back, and I'm rooting for the man since I didn't want to go with the man in uniform, I had a very bad feeling about him.

"Don't you understand? This Vulpix must be mine! But if you won't give it to me then I will take it by force!" The man in the black uniform took out a red and white ball object and threw it to the ground. "Arbok use Haze!" the ball opened suddenly and a white flash came out, the white flash turned into an Arbok, an angry looking purple cobra snake!

I yelped when the Arbok shot out some black smoke from its mouth. The man break open the glass I was in and grabbed me! I struggled, but he held me tight. He got his filthy hand on my purple shiny rock, no… I can't let him get it… I promised Dad! I spat Ember on his hand, causing him to drop me! I yipped.

"Little monster! Arbok use Wrap and trap that Vulpix now!" the man demanded.

I yelp when I saw the Arbok coming at me, I quickly bolted away, but it was hard to see in this haze… I had to rely on my other senses… like Dad taught me, always be wary of hidden predators, if you can't see them use your ears to listen or your nose to smell for them. It was hard to breathe in this haze, let alone smell, so I had to rely on my ears.

I need to find a way out… where's the door? I managed to keep running from the Arbok but for how long? I jumped when the cops came and blowing their whistles, and barking from the Growlithes and Herdier that they use, most likely to attack that uniform bad guy who tried to take me and the stone.

I coughed, trying to get away, but somebody grabbed the scruff of my fur, I think it's a Growlithe as I sense high heat within the canine. It ran over to a police woman.

"Good boy, now sic him!" she picked me up while the Growlithe jumped back into the haze. She petted my head and it made me want to purr. She has soft hands… I felt much safer now knowing the police are here to rescue me, Dad told me about them, so I should be safe, right?

"Oh you poor little Vulpix, we better find you a good home… Oh? What's this?" She looked at the stone around me neck. "Huh, I guess you must belong to a very wealthy owner already, they must be worried about you. Hmm… Too bad they neglected to leave a phone number on your collar…"

They… think I belong to some rich person? Huh, guess the stone can also be used to trick some humans that it's a collar. That's going to come in handy, just wish the guy in the pound did that before casting me into a cage.

I don't know what happened to that guy in the uniform, but I was brought back to the police station, where there were more police humans. Hmm… what will happen if they can't find 'my owner'? Would they released me back into the streets or send me to a new home? Hmm… Dad said not to let anyone get their hands on this stone… but that doesn't mean I can't go to a better home, right?

* * *

"Officer Jenny, there are no reports on anyone wealthy having a lost Vulpix." A cop said to the woman beside me. So her name is Jenny…

"But then… does that mean this is a wild Vulpix?" Jenny said, looking at me.

I gave a smile and nodded, and she sighed, "Okay… I don't know where this Vulpix got something so valuable but I'll have to take this stone and find out what it is and return it to its rightful owner."

I froze and gulped, no, she can't take it… it does belong to me… or my Dad, but she can't take it! But I can't just fight back; what if they sic their canine Pokémon on me? She reached down and was about to take the stone but I backed away, hoping she'd get the message.

"Now, now, I need to take this back to the rightful owner, obviously it's expensive and important, you can't keep it." Jenny said to me and I shook my head.

"But this is my Dad's stone! You can't take it!" I whined, but humans can't understand us Pokémon, which is really bad because I can't tell her squat!

"Look, I know you like it but you can't keep it, this need to be returned." Jenny scolded me.

I shook my head but then my ears heard a voice, "Find me that Vulpix with the stone!" That voice… it's the voice of the man who tried to kidnap me before! I don't think I'm safe here- WAH! The lights suddenly went out, that man must've cut the power, and with the police humans going around trying to figure out what's going that man and his mean Pokémon can come in here and grab me! I have to get out of here!

Thankfully because I can see in the dark much easier than humans because foxes are natural night predators, I managed to get outside, but this turned out to be a mistake… outside I had no protection, and that R man along with a mean looking Houndoom were glaring at me. I knew I had to get away.

"You're not going to get away, my little treasure." The man smirked evilly.

I yelped and ran as his Houndoom began chasing me. Thankfully Quick Attack was helping me keep ahead, but I can't keep this move up forever! The Houndoom did manage to get at my tails a few times because I was getting tired. I yipped as I tripped over a rock on the sidewalk, and the Houndoom jumped at me, his teeth gnashing! I screamed as he used Crunch on me! While I was screaming and struggling something purple began flashing tremendously, I don't know what was happening, but I felt a sudden power rush and the sun in the sky suddenly got ten times brighter, blinding me and probably the Houndoom too, he let me go and, without thinking, I used Quick Attack at his chest and somehow threw him into a building with ease. I didn't stay there trying to figure it out; I just ran for it. I knew I had to get out of the city as quickly as possible!

I didn't dare stop… I knew if I did my body would collapse from the pain and exhaustion and I would never get away from that evil R guy with those big mean Pokémon! Oooh… where's Dad when I need him... I still don't know what happened back there with the Houndoom… I managed to get to the outskirts of the city, but I knew I couldn't stay here too long… I have to find a place to hide… maybe in the woods? No… that's… that's dangerous, there's bound to be a lot of wild Pokémon and… I'd still have to cross the Skyarrow Bridge!

* * *

I don't think I can make that journey… the Pinwheel Forest is too much for me… and I can't cross that bridge to get to it… I stopped finally and my body collapsed… maybe I can just hide out here… nobody could think to look for a Vulpix way out here, right?

I don't know how long it's been, but I must've fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes again the morning sun was already rising. Huh… I guess I was more tired than I thought. I slowly sat up, my body was aching everywhere, I was just glad that the Houndoom wasn't trying to kill me with that Crunch attack or I'd be dead right now. The stone is still around my neck… I glared at it… this thing has caused me so much trouble! I'd be better off throwing it away and forgetting about it! … But I can't… I promised Dad not to let anyone get it…

Suddenly I heard that R guy's voice… no, I thought I lost him! He won't give up! "I know that Vulpix is here somewhere… Houndoom, find her!" he released the Houndoom from one of those red and white balls.

I gulped… I knew I had to get out of here, whatever freaky phenomena happened last time that got me away from that Houndoom earlier may not happen again, so I won't be taking my chances… I have to try and cross that Skyarrow Bridge and get into the forest, quickly. I weakly stood up and started walking… no, I have to be faster, my ears winced when I heard the Houndoom's growling and pawsteps coming this way quickly. My weak walking got faster, soon becoming a trot, then a jog and now all out running… ugh… this hurts… my body is so sore, but I can't stop now, I have to keep going!

I looked out at the huge and long Skyarrow Bridge… I gulped, but I can't stop here… ooh… I hope I'll make it! The Pinwheel Forest Dad told me about should have plenty of places to hide! I just have to make it across this dreaded bridge… I gulped when I heard thunder… great, the skies are cloudy this morning… oh I hope it doesn't rain… Dad told me I didn't have Flash Fire as my ability, but something called Drought… he said it was a rare ability to have, but I have no idea what the heck Drought it or how to use it… I'm getting off subject here. Anyway I have to keep going.

I looked down at the oceans below… that's… a very long drop… not to mention an endless range or salt water… I don't mind water, in fact I like it which is strange for a Fire type I know, but I can't help that I like it, however I'm still a Fire type and there's no way I can survive if I fall off this bridge. I cringed when I heard the Houndoom's howls getting closer, no time to get side-track I have to keep going.

No problem, this bridge is wide and strong enough, I'm sure nothing will go wrong, just keep going… But there's also not a lot of room to hide in case he catches up to me. Oooh, I'm never going to make it!

I jumped when a hot Flamethrower raged passed me, grazing some of my fur… That was strong… I know I'm a Fire type too but that still hurts! I guess it's because I'm such a weakling and that Houndoom is powerful and since I don't have the Flash Fire ability I'm not immune to fire attacks! Oh I cursed the day I was hatched without Flash Fire right now! Ah! The end of the bridge, yes, I can make it! I CAN MAKE IT!

* * *

NO! Before I could make a dive into the forest, the Houndoom managed to catch up to me, only this time he grabbed one of my tails with his teeth and held me there. I knew I better do something quick or that R man will capture me… I can't fight, but… maybe I won't have to; I just have to trick him. Oh I wish I knew how to use Confuse Ray… but maybe it'll still work.

"H-hey! Your Master wanted this stone, right?" I asked him, holding up my purple stone.

Houndoom glared at me, "What about it?"

"What if I, say, throw it into the ocean?" I said, smugly.

"You wouldn't dare!" Houndoom growled, giving me a warning glare, making me gulped.

"I-I would… if you don't let me go I would." I said as I silently picked up a random rock.

"If you do I will rip you apart!" Houndoom growled.

"Okay, but then you wouldn't get the time to get the stone." I said as I threw the rock over the bridge, in his panic he didn't see that it wasn't the one around my neck and he dropped me.

"NO! NO! NO!" Houndoom ran after it and I quickly made a run for it into the forest, it wouldn't take him long to realize I only threw a regular rock after all and I have to get him off my trail before he comes looking for me, teeth and fire a blazing.

I panted as I had finally made it into Pinwheel Forest… but now that I'm here… still hurt and sore… and filled with wild Pokémon… will I even be able to survive? My ears twitched… that Houndoom still hasn't given up! I have to go in deeper.

I ran… and ran… until I was too tired to even more anymore. I fell to the grassy floor, panting… didn't notice a shadow walking up to me until I heard a voice.

"Who are you?"

I gasped as I looked up and over at the Pokémon who addressed me…


End file.
